Broomfield show wows thousands with ground and air spectacle

Aerobatics proved to be main attraction

Annika Schnur, 3, reaches for the propeller of a 1945 P-51D Mustang at the Broomfield Air and Car Show held at the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport on Saturday. (Kira Vos / For the Camera)

Stepping through the gates at the Rocky Mountain Air & Ground Festival on Saturday was a way to step back in time.

Near the Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport's sat "The Old Dodge," a 1923 Arvada fire truck — shiny red and outfitted with a wooden ladder.

Bianca and the Flyboys provided the soundtrack Saturday afternoon as people craned their necks to see incoming flights. The group was accompanied by the USO tribute group Denver Dolls — an eye-catching trio in World War II era clothing, hair and makeup.

Vintage cars, trucks and planes drew in thousands of people from across the Denver Metro Saturday who came, in large part, to watch aerobatics.

Toward the end of the morning performance session, Kyle Franklin, of Franklin's Flying Circus & Airshow, dropped his plane only to straighten out before hitting the ground.

"Don't let your kids be scared," said Danny "Sky-Talker" Clisham from a platform near the runway. "That was an act."

Clisham, who has spent 53 years announcing air shows, said he grew up with airplanes in his dad's back yard. He used that love and knowledge of planes and pilots to entertain, and possibly educate, crowds.

"I want to take the mystery out of the flying," he said, comparing jargon used by doctors and lawyers to technical language of flight. "They're my family and I want them to understand everything."

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It was his first show at the Rocky Mountain airport, but he's known the show producer and a lot of the performers for years. When he meets a new act, they sit down together and he tries to identify the "soul" of the show and "how they're different than any other act you're going to see."

The 'price' was right

After the morning's "Parade of Flight," there was a demonstration of a jet-powered smart car and the promise of a similar run by a jet-powered school bus.

On weekends Clisham, who spends all year researching for work, said he'll always prefer to be part of an air show and showcasing the mental skill and physical strain, along with the personality, of performers.

When eyes weren't trained on the planes in the sky, they were fixed on the collection parked on the ground. Parents snapped photos of children posing in front of a 442 Fighter Wing, an A-7D Corsair II or a 1945 P-51D Mustang.

Families took refuge from the sun in the shade of airplane wings

Amber Brzezinski, of Arvada, came to the show with her husband and two sons, 3 years and 18 months.

"My kinds love the planes," she said. "All we've done is walked around looked at them."

The family also enjoyed a picnic lunch they packed from home. Even though the trek from their car was long, she was grateful that the event was free. If it wasn't, they probably woudln't have gone.

While she herself is scared of flying, and was in no way included to buy a ticket for a ride that day, Brezinski was there for the family fun.

"We like to get out and get 'em tired," she said about her boys. "That's all we need on the weekends."

Volunteers with the Mile High Wing of the Commemorative Air Force offered flights in their 1943 Beechcraft SNB-5 that day — $99 a seat or $200 for a co-pilot seat. The force was formed in the 1950s by WWII veterans who wanted to stop the destruction of planes they used in battle.

Their third flight of the day took off around 1 p.m. Jeff Hinkle, a volunteer who helped man the dog tag machine, said they had enough people signed up for two more flights and he anticipated even more by the end of the day.

The chapter, which includes 55 members, rents a hanger at the Rocky Mountain airport. It's kept up by several licensed technicians, including airport maintenance supervisor Dan Bishop.

Organizers estimated about 17,000 had visited the air show as of noon.

It was the first time the airport hosted an air show since 2015.

Hopes for another show next year

It was difficult getting vendors to commit since organizers were unsure of crowd size, Anslow said, but the long lines in front of the food and brewery vendors will make a difference in attracting businesses in the future.

Previous directors were not entirely enthusiastic about running shows, Airport Director Paul Anslow said, but he has a background in running shows in Hawaii and jumped at the opportunity to host one in Colorado.

While it's still undecided, he hopes to host another show next year.

Another feature was a 250-vehicle car show hosted by the Collector Car Council of Colorado. That group also provided the nearly 180 volunteers who helped run the air show, Anslow said.

Despite the show, Rocky Mountain Metropolitan was still a functioning airport with regular flights coming in and taking off. The windows of time in which they can do aerobatic flight are set by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport is the fourth busiest airport in Colorado with more than 150,000 annual operations and in excess of 400 aircraft based on the field. It was founded and is sponsored by Jefferson County.

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